One Way Ticket to Paris by Emma Robinson

Emma Robinson comes to the blog today with a story that challenges where we are in life with what we expected and comes up with sevens in

One Way Ticket to Paris

Kate has ‘everything’ and yet still feels as if she’s failing. A loving husband (if a bit clueless) two kids, the ability to be a stay-at-home Mum and lists of things to accomplish scattered everywhere. And yet, the requests for ‘one more’ thing keep coming. Still dealing with the unexpected death of her father, and feeling as if everyone is watching and judging her mothering and coping abilities, she is on the edge and only needs to find one thing to make everything fall into place. Herself. Booking a low-cost ticket on the Eurostar, she’s packed her bag, dropped the kids at school, arranged for her friend to pick them up and texted her friend Shannon, an exPat American living in Paris to announce her impending arrival.

Shannon is preparing the company’s sales get-together for her boss and lover Robert, and struggling with making sure the salespeople are content despite Robert’s mercurial reputation. She’s been fobbing off his demands that she meet his daughters, he wants more while she’s convinced herself that marriage and family are too many steps too far. Feeling ill, she’s juggling her frustrations with Robert who wants to discuss their relationship NOW, and checking to be certain the sales meeting and activities are all set and ready, she’s happy to hear from Kate, but knows that juggling her friend catch-up time and her job will be a stretch. Especially with her new revelations. But, needs must, and she heads to the station to gather Kate and get her settled with a hotel room. Meanwhile, Kate has met Laura on the train. Laura, heading to the sales meeting, struggling with her job performance and the fight she had with her long-term (12 years) boyfriend James and his unwillingness to make a plan or commitment for their future. A flirtation with another salesman, Paolo, has her nervous and concerned what it all means, just another layer of confusion added to her plate, and the conversation with Kate about children and commitment haven’t made it easier.

Three women at three different places in their lives, where nothing is quite living up to expectations. Sure Kate wanted the kids, but the never ending commitments, expectations and challenges, and the nagging feeling that she doesn’t recognize herself when she looks in the mirror. Her inability to say no, and her husband’s lack of seeing what is “important’ about all of the commitments, she’s angry at his not understanding and feeling as if she’s failed as a Mum. Shannon is studiously avoiding Robert, not wishing to get into yet another conversation where the distance between them is pointed: he wants commitment and more, she’s feeling trapped and unworthy of that commitment. And, they work together which makes everything more complex. When you add in the reappearance of a long-buried secret, and her all too blunt reaction to Kate’s inability to say ‘no’, she’s pushed to make decisions that she never envisioned. And poor Laura, with a gaslighting boyfriend unwilling to make a plan, and Paolo’s clear vision of her worth and issues, and despite another salesperson’s attempts to destroy his reputation, she’s got to face her fears: go for what it is she truly wants, or allow James to (again) fob her off with vague maybes and ‘possible’. Robinson gives us the ability to understand and empathize (or remember when we were there) each of the issues, the confusions, contrasts between actual wants and what is expected, and the little justifications and moments of ‘settling’ that we all do, while waiting for everything to come clear (hopefully). From frustration to laughter to tears, the healing power of friendship and the help found with a willing ear, the power of honest searching and a change of pace and place can bring.

When I was a kid and I’d lost something, my dad always said ‘Go back to the place you last had it’. The problem is that what I’ve lost is… me.

Kate loves her family more than anything, but recently she has started to feel invisible. Lying awake at three a.m. as her husband snores, panicking about shopping lists, birthday parties, and the school bake sale…

She finds herself in the kitchen, gulping water, staring at a postcard of the Eiffel Tower from Shannon, her best friend.

Paris, with its red wine, slippery cobbles and curly lampposts. Where the scent of freshly-baked croissants hangs in the air, and Kate last remembers feeling like herself.

The postcard is a year old. It has just one line on it: When are you coming?

A copy of this title was provided via Publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

About Emma Robinson

Emma Robinson thinks of herself as one of the ‘Bridget Jones generation’ – who are now grown up and having children – and writes novels for women who feel the same.

She also has a blog, Motherhood for Slackers, which takes a humorous look at parenthood, and includes poems such as ‘Dear Teacher’ about her son starting school which has been shared around the world. Emma is an English teacher and lives in Essex with a patient husband and two children who are an endless source of material.